[1] Colonisation impacted the health of Indigenous Australians via land dispossession, social marginalisation, political oppression, incarceration, acculturation and population decline.

These colonial policies resulted in segregated oppression and a lack of access to adequate medical care, leading to further disease and mortality.

Issues such as anxiety, stress, grief, and sadness are produced from this trauma, which have led to higher suicide rates, violence, substance abuse and incarceration of Indigenous peoples today.

This has had profound effects on physical and intellectual development; Indigenous communities today in remote locations continue to suffer from malnutrition and chronic health problems, as well as lower levels of education.

[4] The persistence of inequality in educational attainment among contemporary Indigenous communities is viewed as a product of historical, political and social factors.

Racial discrimination towards Indigenous peoples that stems from processes of colonialism leads to a cumulative exposure to racism, and this is related to negative health outcomes.

Agreement on the magnitude of the gap is arguably needed in order to evaluate strategies aimed at improving health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

[24][25] In 2007/08, the Australian government focused mainly on decreasing "overcrowding" within remote indigenous communities in endeavours to improve health in rural populations.

The Implementation of Australian Rural Accommodation (ARIA) Programme was granted A$293.6 million over four years to induce a significant level of housing reform.

Its primary objective is to alleviate persistent and chronic shortages in healthcare personnel within remote Aboriginal communities situated in the Northern Territory (NT).

[27] RAHC operates by facilitating short-term placements, ranging from three to 12 weeks, while concurrently augmenting the pool of professionals equipped with the requisite skills and competencies to administer culturally sensitive care within these communities.

[41] In addition, the following factors have been at least partially implicated in the inequality in life expectancy:[41] In some areas of Australia, particular the Torres Strait Islands, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among Indigenous Australians is between 25 and 30%.

[19] A 2007 study in The Lancet found that the four greatest preventable contributions to the Indigenous mental health burden of disease were: alcohol consumption, illicit drugs, child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence.

[58] The ex-prisoner population of Australian Aboriginal people is particularly at risk of committing suicide; organisations such as Ngalla Maya have been set up to offer assistance.

[59] There are high incidences of anxiety, depression, PTSD and suicide amongst the Stolen Generations, with this resulting in unstable parenting and family situations.

[62][63][64][65] The 2019 ABS data showed that about 24% of Indigenous people, including children with 23% of males and 25% of females distribution, experienced mental health issues.

[50] To combat the problem, a number of programs to prevent or mitigate alcohol abuse have been attempted in different regions, many initiated from within the communities themselves.

[74] In 2005 this problem among remote Indigenous communities was considered so serious that a new, low aromatic petrol Opal was distributed across the Northern Territory to combat it.

[79] Hill et al. (2022) report that treatment in alcohol and other drug ('AoD') programs host disproportionally high numbers of young Aboriginal people compared to other groups.

[80] AoD programs focus on prevention, education, treatment, and support for individuals dealing with addiction or other negative impacts of substance issues.

[80] The researchers (Hill et al.:2022) suggest that working within an Indigenous knowledge paradigm supported by the community, involvement of family, and the recognition of 'self' can be implemented as key reforms to rehabilitate the health outcomes of Aboriginal Australians.

[80] Furthermore, Anderson and Kowal (2012) present a similar critique of the lack of cultural understanding of Indigenous knowledge paradigms relating to health.

[91] Andrew Butcher speculates that the lack of fricatives and the unusual segmental inventories of Australian languages may be due to the very high presence of otitis media ear infections and resulting hearing loss in their populations.

Similarly high per capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has also been reported among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at the national level.

[98] Due to the lack of accessible healthcare in many areas of central Australia, indigenous Australians are prevented from taking the necessary medications to be cured.

Thus, morbidity and mortality rates amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders under 55 years of age with ARF and RHD are 60% more likely to develop the diseases than other demographics (ENDRHD:2023).

[81] The high statistics in comparison to non-indigenous people (Mitchell et al.:2019) showcase the lack of appropriate and culturally inclusive healthcare available to these communities.

For example, ARF and RHD require a monthly injection of penicillin after the initial infection which is neglected due to different cultural and linguistic beliefs, values, and understanding of health and treatment.

[99] Reasons for the lack of healthcare within these communities can be due to the power imbalance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people because of colonisation, which has been a long-debated topic within the Australian government and society.

Structural violence and institutionalised racism are examples of contributing factors to the current situations relating to ARF and RHD (Haynes et al.: 2021).